


Music of Two Mortal Souls

by KenshinSusano



Series: The Days we watch go by [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Chuck Lives, Domestic Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied Sexual Content, Implied Stacker/Herc, M/M, Please do comment and such, Slice of Life, There is a plot I promise, it's getting a little more smutty in here than expected, it's not just snark, or even really much snark for that matter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2014-06-12
Packaged: 2018-01-26 15:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1693358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KenshinSusano/pseuds/KenshinSusano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't easy for Raleigh to accept the fact that Chuck died in the explosion of Striker Eureka. He just couldn't believe that the late Marshall Pentecost would break his promise to Herc like that. There has to be some way that he had escaped, because without the young australian, Raleigh felt he might never be complete again. Chuck couldn't really say the same for himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Under your spell again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are subscribed to this work and all that fun stuff, this will be undergoing a bit of a rewrite. 
> 
> For those of you that are reading this for the first time, do enjoy. I put a good bit of time into this. :P

Good Enough

 

* * *

 

Raleigh sighed to himself as he paced around his room, it had been only a sparse few hours since he was rescued from Gipsy Danger’s escape pod, and all of LOCCENT was celebrating. All except for Raleigh himself, and his partner Mako. Raleigh was too busy thinking of a certain ginger-haired Australian. Mako’s smaller hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts.

“You want to get out of here and maybe grab some food to get your mind off of him?” the smaller Japanese woman smiled softly at her co-pilot. She always did know how to make Raleigh feel better. A small and dejected smile left Raleighs lips as he turned his back to the rest of the celebrating community and followed the small woman to the mess-hall.  He wasn’t sure what she thought this would help, but he did admit, it made him lose himself in the gun-metal grey of the walls of the shatterdome. Pretty soon the smells of the mess hall came hitting his nose. He was glad it was an a-la-carte sort of mess hall, where he could pick out the things he wanted. Mako and him both parted a bit to pick out their respective plates of food, and they met to grab a table in the corner of the empty mess hall.

“I know he’s on your mind, Raleigh. I was in your head when it all went down.” Mako broke the silence after a few bites of her food, a typical teriyaki katsudon. _It suits her._ Raleigh thought. He couldn’t help but nod.

“Yeah. I just don’t think that Chuck is dead. Pentecost promised Hansen and I don’t think he could break such a promise.”  Raleigh sighed, poking at the mashed potatoes on his plate next to the small steak it was sharing space with. “So he’s gotta be out there, no doubt about it.” He murmured.  It took all he had to not just crumple in a moping heap right there.

“The late Marshall was not one to break promises, especially not to those as close to him as Hercules Hansen. Although we have no way to know that Chuck is alive.” Mako sighed, chewing on a piece of fried beef as she collected her thoughts.  “if we could find a way to access a way to search for the escape pod’s signal from Striker Eureka, then we might be able to see if he made it out.” She tapped her chopsticks on the side of her bowl gently. “but getting that technology discreetly would be rather difficult.”

“I’d do what it takes to find him.” Raleigh stated, turning his head to hide the faint blush on his face. He had only just come across the revelation of his feelings towards the Aussie, but it had hit him like a brick. He was totally smitten for the Australian, and he had only just realized it too late. His mind still played over the last conversation he and the ginger had before they had gone off to operation Pitfall.

* * *

 

_Raleigh sighed as he stood on a balcony overlooking the ocean in the shatterdome, lost in his memories._

_“you’re in my head kid.” He would hear from Yancy, a ghost of his older brother that haunted him to this day. It kept him from noticing the heavy familiar gait of footsteps from behind him until the owner was right beside him. Raleigh glanced to his side and noticed the Australian man standing next to him. Not a word was exchanged between them for a while, until Chuck decided to break the silence._

_“So I guess this might be our last words to each other.” He started, speaking rather slowly, deliberately. As if he was gauging Raleighs reactions. When Raleigh nodded solemnly he continued. “So I wanted to say… I’m sorry, I guess. I know we didn’t start off on the right foot, but I hope we can sort of end it on the right foot.” He drawled a bit, noticing the way the other man gave him a small, almost unnoticed smile._

_“It’s okay, Chuck. You don’t need to apologize for you being you.” Raleigh chuckled softly, almost whispering his statement to the slightly younger man. “And I don’t want you to feel like this is the last time we’ll see each other. We’ll survive through this, because on my honor as Gipsy Danger’s pilot, I won’t let you die. We are pilots, comrades.” He smiled up at chuck, a true, genuine smile that made something in the younger pilot warm up instantly. Chuck didn’t really know how to react, but all he knew was that he didn’t want to see the older blonde smile that smile at anyone else._

_“That’s all nice for the warm and fuzzies, Rahhh-leigh.” Chuck drawled, hoping that the dim orange sunlight hid his growing blush from the blonde. “But with the way this war’s been going, I’m sure that one of us is going to die down there. And you’ve got a hell of a lot more to live for than I do. The only person that’d even remotely miss an assholish person like me is my Father, and that’s only out of familia duties.” Chuck sighed, leaning against the safety railing._

_Raleigh chuckled softly, gently resting his hand against Chuck’s back in a comforting gesture. “You know that’s not true.” He smiled._  ‘I’d miss you greatly.’ _He thought, the both of them now standing and staring off into the sunset in silence._

* * *

 

Chuck woke with a gasp in his escape pod, the memories of the last 24 hours flashing through his mind before coming to rest on his last words with Raleigh.  He was so surprised that he was alive, that Pentecost had managed to send him shuttling out of Striker Eureka in time to save him from the brunt of the blast of the Nuclear explosion.  He was thankful to know that Pentecost had chosen to save him. He caught the last bits of Pentecost’s thoughts in the drift: A garbled mess of thoughts of his immenent death at the cancer that he suffered from Coyote Tango and his sadness at being unable to keep being in Mako’s life. Pentecost left him with one loud concise missive afterwards.  “Just Live!” he had shouted at chuck as the Australian protested the Jaeger starting his evacuation proceedures.  Chuck didn’t know what he could do now though, The Escape pod was damaged, and water was slowly but surely leaking in if the quite sloshing from down near his boots was enough to go by. He had to get out of there, but the escape hatch to open the door was compromised, damaged beyond normal human strength capability. He could only hope that LOCCENT had managed to find his pod’s beacon.

* * *

 

Mako and Raleigh snuck quietly, bare-footed to reduce any possibility of noise, to the depths of the Shatterdome, Where most of the communications and radar equipment were stored when not in use. Raleigh was just thankful Mako was so knowledgeable about the layout of the shatterdome. Sure he had lived there for most of his life, and they all had the same general layout, but there was still so much about them that he didn’t know; Such as the fact that they all had separate levels below the facility. He released a breath he didn’t even know he was holding as they heard other sets of footsteps echo down the hallway, letting out an indignant grunt as Mako pulled him into a nearby open room. The footsteps quickly passed by and faded off into the distance.  Raleigh smiled at Mako and nodded his thanks.

“We’ve got to be careful. There are still a few personnel down here, it seems, and if they catch us, it won’t be pretty.” Mako chuckled slightly. The pair made their way quickly down the next hallway, taking a few turns before Mako held up her hand, signaling Raleigh to open the nearby door while she would take point. Raleigh nodded, quickly and quietly opening the surprisingly well-oiled heavy metal door.

“So this is the long-range radar setup?” Raleigh asked, letting out a low whistle as Mako closed the door behind him.

“Yes, I only know of this because of Dr. Newton rambling on about it a long time ago Saying something about it being the old way of detecting Kaiju emergences.” Mako explained, shrugging as she walked up to one of the large archaic machines. “Apparently, they’re really good at detecting things other than Kaiju though.”

“Ah, so you think this will help us find out if Chuck-“

“Is alive? Yes, This has the highest chance of finding his escape pod, if it was ejected by my Father.” Mako nodded, finishing Raleigh’s thoughts as she was occasionally prone to doing. “Just have to figure out how to start it up.” She said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck in her confusion as she stared at the confusing machines.

“I think it’s this bit cord in the back that needs to be plugged in, Mako.” Raleigh chuckled softly as he picked up the rather large power cord, plugging it into a conveniently close-by outlet.  “Ya know, this seems like the kind of thing Newt would be super interested in, honestly. I wonder why he’s never dug it up before.” Raleigh mused, chuckling as he imagined the skinny doctor trying to move the heavy machinery around. Mako flicked him on the back of the head to snap him out of his reverie.

“This isnt’ the time to be playing around in your head, Raleigh. Chuck could be dying out there.” She reminded him, smirking a bit at the blush finding its way across the american’s cheeks.

“I-I know that.” Raleigh stammered, pouting at the small Japanese woman. She quickly tapped a few keys on the console of the radar. Suddenly the whole room lit up as the machine whirred to life, a large holo-screen popping up with a few small ticks on it to discern the cardinal directions.

“So how does this thing work?” Raleigh asked, confused.

“Apparently, this dot in the center is the Shatterdome. And it seems to go out a rather long way. 200 kilometers, it seems.” She nodded, zooming in on the Shatterdome dot in the map. She pressed another button and the familiar green sweeping bar of the radar and a few small dots as it passed locations on the radar. One signal stood out stronger than the others, though.

“Can you zoom out to see where that strange blip is on the map, Mako?” Raleigh asked, hope swelling up in his heart that it might just be the Australian. Mako nodded silently with a smirk as she zoomed out, to find an approximate range of distance of the odd signal.

“It’s a good 170 kilometers out to the east, in the middle of the pacific from here.” She explained as she worked to get the map to encompass both the shatterdome’s signal and the new signal. She could barely surpress her chuckle at the gleam in Raleigh’s eyes.

They barely had time to rejoice as the door behind them swung open, the large figure of Hercules Hansen standing intimidatingly in the doorway. “What do you two think you’re doin’ down here?” he growled, arms crossed over his chest.

“We think we may have found Chuck alive and well, Sir.” Raleigh grinned, not even embarrassed that he and Mako had been caught.

“You’re kidding me, right? There’s no way he could have survived Striker detonating. As much as I want to believe you, Becket, there’s just no way.” Herc sighed, shaking his head as he walked to grab the two pilots.  Suddenly a small beeping came from the radar machine. A light flashing “Incoming communications.” Caught all three pilots attention. Mako quickly pressed the answer button, and the voice surprised everyone in the room.

“LOCCENT, Please respond. This is Chuck Hansen. My escape pod is compromised, and sinking steadily. I don’t know how much longer I have, but if anyone can hear this, my position is just above the location of the breach. Send a rescue troop immediately, please.”

* * *

 So there ya have it, A new Chaleigh/Raluck fic to deal with here, but hopefully it's not horrible for you guys. :D Enjoy.


	2. Follow you into the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chuck is recovering, Raleigh is being a dolt as always, and there are much more secrets begging to be uncovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cookies (the metaphorical sort, of course) for those that can get any of the title references.   
> ALSO, there is good reason for any sort of OOC that happens in these chapters.

Follow You into the Dark

 

Yup. A new chapter up so quickly. I've had up to chapter 3 pre-written and posted on another site, but I figured I'd branch out and post here too. So yay. 

Alternative Title for this chapter: “If had a world where I could never see you, I’d rather be blind.”

* * *

 

Herc’s heart stopped as he heard his son’s voice echo through the rather sparsely decorated old room, before he suddenly spun on his heel to leave the room, barking orders into his cell phone, no doubt with Tendo on the other side of the line. Raleigh didn’t know what to be more impressed with, the fact that it took him so long to leave the room a whirlwind of activity, or that Tendo answered immediately.  Mako simply stood a bit speechless at the spectacle of it all.

“We should get going too, before the Marshall has a chance to remember that we were supposed to be in trouble.” Raleigh chuckled sheepishly, with Mako nodding dumbly a bit as she worked to process what had just happened.

“We seemed to have dodged the bullet.” She said simply as they worked their way to the express lift up to the main levels. Raleigh took a quick sideways glance at her and chuckled.  She shot a glare at him for his laugh, suddenly back to the normal no-nonsense Mako he was used to now that she had a chance to make a game plan for what was about to greet them as they worked their way up to LOCCENT.

The pair was still definitely not prepared for the wall of noise to bear down on them as they arrived at their destination. Tendo was ordering multiple medivac squads out to Chuck’s newly acquired position, having just now gotten the distress signal, albeit a rather weak one, from the escape pod.  Raleigh wasn’t expecting a hard pat on the back from the Marshall as he passed by barking orders into a headset on his ear.   “I owe you guys.” He mouthed quickly as he went back to making sure his son would be rescued.

Raleigh was still slightly in shock as well. All his hoping and wishing that Chuck was still alive had proven to be worth his time after all. He was appropriately conflicted though about it all. On the one hand, yes, he was terribly and irrevocably smitten with the young Hansen. On the other, he knew the other man still didn’t like him for leaving the Jeager program all those years ago.  And all of a sudden, he knew he had to be away from the hustle and bustle of the whole place; securely back in his room where all the noise couldn’t bother him until he knew Chuck was safe.  He bolted quickly out of LOCCENT and back to the pseudo-barracks that he had grown to call home in the Hong-Kong shatterdome, still ever thankful that almost all of the buildings held the same layout.

_“Kid…I want you to listen to me… I want you to….”_  Yancy’s last words echoed in his head loudly as he knew what his brother was going to say next.  _“Stay Calm and we can deal with this.”_  He was about to say before Knifehead had so suddenly ripped him out of the Conn-pod, out of Raleigh’s brain and still in the drift. He didn’t want to relive those moments, but sometimes the stress and panic caused the ghost-drift’s to show up at the worst possible times. It was all Raleigh could do to make himself sit on the edge of his bed, head cradled in his hands as he took one deep breath after another. He knew Mako was watching him from the doorframe that he never managed to close, providing her own form of comfort to block him from the view of the open hallway while still leaving him the option of leaving the small room for a more open area.

Mako smiled softly as she watched over Raleigh, well aware that these sorts of episodes weren’t something that anyone else should be privy to. The drift had taught her all she needed to know about Raleigh’s anxiety, and his rather ironic claustrophobia; which she was thankful for, because it let her look out for her friend without him needing to say a word. Every time someone would approach the room due to hearing Raleigh’s rather controlled sobs and whines, she would gently and rather expertly sidetrack them to go do something else.

“He’s alive, Mako.” Raleigh choked out. “And I don’t know what I can do.”

* * *

 

 He was fading in and out of consciousness as he heard the telltale sounds of helicopters approaching his location, not that he could hear much else than the sound of waves from outside the escape pod, and occasionally the sound of water sloshing about inside the pod.  He groaned as the loud noise got louder and while he was glad that they had managed to hear his MADAY broadcast, he had at semi-consciously wished that they could have used all their technical advancements from the Jaeger project to make helicopter’s quieter, at the least. It wasn’t until they had pried the hinges off the escape pod’s door that he was suddenly extremely glad to see any other human being for once in his life.  The last thing he managed to hear  was a muffled “Thank god we got to him in time.” From one of the medical crew.

* * *

 

Weeks had passed, and they finally gave the green to visit Chuck in the medical bay. Not that the Aussie was showing he was glad for the other human interaction, because he was secretly glad they let other people in –The whole White-garbed doctor and nurse thing was just getting old. It wasn’t until his father had left him, all somber nods and pregnant silences, that he had noticed a figure pacing just outside the window. He had a feeling he knew who it was, but he figured he’d amuse the blond by acting surprised.

The door creaked open slowly, the heavy footsteps of Raleigh’s boots echoing in the empty room.  Chuck wasn’t all that surprised when he took a nearby chair, avoiding looking at him.  “I guess I should at least thank ya, _Rahhleigh.”_ Chuck sighed, wishing that he could just not say any of this to the blonde.  “if it wasn’t for you fiddling with that old equipment, My father wouldn’t have known I was alive and I might have just died out there.”

Raleigh nodded silently, occasionally stealing a glance over at the annoyed ginger. He couldn’t help the small lopsided smile that was creeping it’s way on to his face as he noticed the blush on the Australian’s cheeks. “It’s really nothing to be so bashful about, Hansen.” He teased, actively dodging the pillow the Aussie had thrown his way immediately. He smiled softly, silence overcoming the two of them, but a welcome silence of the words left unsaid.

They sat in silence for a little over an hour, occasionally making a small quip or insulting one another, until the nurses quietly stepped in and advised Raleigh that visiting hours were over and they’d be the same times tomorrow.  He stood, stretching languidly as he looked over the various cuts, burns, and broken limbs the Australian had gotten from the blast. He swallowed the lump in his throat, before awkwardly waving goodbye and heading out the door. 

“See you tomorrow, Raleigh?” Chuck blushed as the words left his mouth, determined to keep his gaze out the window to the steady waves of the pacific ocean.  He even forgot his typical drawl on Raleigh’s name that he used specifically for agitating the other Ranger, even though if anyone else spoke the blonde’s name like that so-help-him-god they’d be eating out of a tube for weeks.  He was so determined to not look over at Raleigh that he didn’t see him beam brightly even in the ever dimming sunset.

* * *

 

A few more weeks had passed the same way, with Chuck pretending he didn’t care Raleigh was being so friendly, and Raleigh reminding the Australian more and more of a Golden retriever. At some point, Raleigh had brought in an old DVD player at the indignant scoff of the Australian that he had never been a movie person.

“That can be changed.” Raleigh had grinned widely, bounding off quickly with promises that he’d be back shortly. Chuck rolled his eyes, muttering something about a lost puppy and how he suddenly realized why Max had liked the blonde so much from the get-go. 

Raleigh had come back with his DVD player and a couple of movies and tv-shows that he was sure Chuck hadn’t seen before.  _When did I become such a Girl, Yance?_  Raleigh had found himself thinking as he walked back to Medical with his stuff. The thought surprised him, of course, and sure he knew he was smitten with the Australian, but damn if he wasn’t showing it in the most obvious way possible and it embarrassed him suddenly. When he walked back in and showcased the movies to the Aussie he had to forcibly beat down the blush that threatened to rise in him when Chuck decided to wink at him when he told him to choose.

Chuck could have sworn he could hear Raleigh’s heart stop at the playful wink. Sure he had been cocky as hell, but he was also still pushing the waters with the new friendship he and Raleigh had started. He never expected the blonde to be as, well, eloquent as he was. Sure he could tell that the blonde was talking slower than normal, trying to place each word with care as to project the right meaning.

His last thoughts before the nurse ushered Raleigh out of his room was a very content _“I could get used to this.”_  

* * *

The new marshall paced in his office as the new news reached him, both of Chuck’s recovery and of the sudden increase of activity with the Kaiju Cults. He had hoped they would be put down with the closing of the breach, but it seems that saving the world from those monsters only made the cults redouble their attempts to try to ruin all the peace in the world. Some of them were even apparently resorting to some sorts of “Magic” they had called it to try to open another breach and welcome their Kaiju messiahs.  Hercules Hansen had never been one to believe in the concept of magic, but with the fanaticism of the cults, he figured it might just be a viable threat to the peace of the world. Not right this instant, no, but it had the potential to really mess with everything in the long run. He figured he should start sending out missives to all of his rangers to start back up on training, but instead of fighting Kaiju, they would be training to take out human targets. Just in case push came to shove.

A soft knock at the door to his office jolted the large man out of his thoughts, shaking his head as he called a very non-committal “come in.” He didn’t expect to see Mako Mori making her presence in his office so suddenly, but by the way that she held her tablet, he knew she had something important.

“I have no doubt you’re aware of the recent surge of activity of the Kaiju Cults, sir.” She started, each word calm, precise, calculated. At Herc’s nod she continued. “I’m also sure you’ve already thought of training the current rangers to be ready in case they should be attacked, correct?” She inquired, gaze never leaving the new marshal’s face. 

“It’s definitely crossed my mind, actually. I’d rather my rangers be ready for action if the Kaiju cultists decide to attack them on the streets someday. It’s not going to be easy, but maybe we can finally work towards the peace this world deserves. And if we have to fight the UN every step of the way, then I’ll fight them. I have a duty to protect these rangers, and by god I’ll perform that duty to every ounce of my ability.” Herc nodded, proud of his small speech despite the fact that only Mako was privy to it. He frowned, realizing he had put too much bravado on for a simple discussion.

“That’s what I thought, sir. Therefore I’ve put a list together of things we’d need and who the best people to get them from would be. As well as made a budgeting plan of the remaining funds from the Jaeger program. Although I think you should come up with a new name for us, since we’ll be dealing with more than just the pacific now.” Mako explained, handing Herc the tablet and hiding her small smile as the marshal’s eyes widened at just how well prepared she was.

“The GDSC.” Herc said suddenly, a grim expression on his face as he imagined what was in store for them now that they had to accept that this change was more than just superficial and asthetics. There were so many Kaiju cults out there, and so little of his rangers. He hated the idea of having to draw new people into the new fight, but it couldn’t be helped at this point. “The Global Domestic Security Committee.”  He was momentarily amused that Mako had given him a very approving nod at the new name.

And with that, it was like the world was ending all over again.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. There we go. A new chapter already and hopefully just what the fluff needed. Yes. These are very fluffy and Slice-Of-Life-y, but I don't care.


	3. if only because Dust is what we come to

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens, among other things. and much much more fluff is to be had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to you guys if you get the Reference in any of these chapter's titles, really. :P

If only because Dust is what we come to

* * *

 

The next few days found the Shatterdome in a rather interesting combination of Busy and lazy at the same time. The busy ones were actually really only the Marshal and his personal assistant Mako. Though today seemed like a start of days of firsts, based on the way that one very perplexed Newton Geizler approached Raleigh as he was on his way with a new DVD to Chuck’s new personal part of the medical ward.

“How do you do it man?” Newt had asked him in that all too chipper and still-in-puberty voice that he was too used to by this point. “I-I mean being all sweet on Chuck, don’t get me wrong he’s perfectly fine really nothing against him, without getting your face rearranged?” Newt had blushed a bit at that, muttering something about Theoreticals and how he wishes he could just live with his Kaiju specimens, and how a certain mathematician may or may not have had something to do with his current dilemma.

“I honestly don’t know, Newt; as much as I’d like to help you with your little theoretical issue.” He chuckled, patting the perturbed scientist on the back as he continued to his destination, his mind not all there. _I really don’t know how I’m managing to be all buddy-buddy with a guy who had just recently hated my guts. It’s actually kind of nice._ Raleigh found himself thinking,  He had a bad habit of not thinking enough when he was with Chuck, and he was sure it would get him in trouble sooner or later. Hopefully later. He had to quickly stuff the rapidly careening-off-course thoughts back where they came from as he raised a fist to knock on Chuck’s door. His knuckle didn’t even make contact before he heard the muffled “Come in!” of the typically angry Aussie.

To say he was shocked at Chuck’s current state of recovery was an understatement. They had said it would take him almost a whole month of Physical Therapy to walk again, and Chuck, being the fighter that he was, was managing it in a couple of weeks; with help from his rather constant companion now of course, though neither man would admit it to the nurses. The nurses had already set aside a small cot in the room on the off chance that Raleigh would doze off in the room with the ginger. Chuck had to shoo them away as they cooed and giggled over the blonde’s sleeping form the first time.

Imagine Chuck’s consternation though, the first day the medical staff had told him he wasn’t allowed to bring Max into the room at all until he was healed. Raleigh just chuckled at Chuck’s rather blatantly offended face as they tried to soothe his anger to no avail. Raleigh simply placed a hand on the ginger’s shoulder calmly and smiled his awkward lopsided smile at the younger man and he seemed to calm down.  He saw the small glint of trust flash through Chuck’s expression as he offered the younger occupant of the room his opinion on how it was good the old bulldog wasn’t making the doctors trip.  Raleigh wondered why the Australian man suddenly listened to and valued his opinion, mind wandering to some of the most asinine ideas he could come up with, just to irritate the other as he threw them out into the open with a chuckle.

“I swear you’ve been replaced by an alien or something, Chuck.” He blurted out one day, deftly dodging the swipe at his mid-calf that was awating him by the Australian sitting on the floor in front of him watching the TV absently. Chuck had suddenly decided the floor in front of Raleigh was more comfortable than the admittedly high-end hospital beds that the shatterdome was equipped with. The pair were watching a show that Raleigh had already seen before but Chuck seemed to be completely engrossed with it, which let the blonde wander with his thoughts.  Neither of the two noticed a few sets of eyes watching them from a rather well placed window.

“How the hell is this fair?” Newt pouted, yelping as Hermann swatted him with his cane.

“We’ll figure out if we keep watching and you keep your loud mouth shut, Dr. Geizler.” Hermann scowled, rolling his eyes at Newt’s puppy eyes.  Mako couldn’t help but stifle a giggle at the two scientists as she investigated the rather domesticated scene in the medical room.

“I’ve never seen Ranger Hansen so at ease before. “ She chuckled, making a mental note to ask Raleigh about it next time the two practiced in the Kwoon.

“It’s like Chuck has been replaced with an alien. A creepily domestic alien.” Newt mused, tapping his chin as the possibilities flashed through his rather unique way of thinking. “It would make perfect sense actually.”

“It’s much simpler than that, Dr. Geizler.” Mako chuckled, smiling a bit more openly as she had figured it out.

_“He just makes me happy, and I guess somehow, I’ve become his anchor after all that’s happened.”_ Raleigh muses to himself inside the room, acutely aware of the fact that he had watchers, but not paying them any mind, because Chuck would have noticed if they were any threat to his wellbeing. He never noticed the point at which Chuck became courageous enough to lean all of his weight back against Raleigh’s legs. All Raleigh knew was that it made him much happier than such a small gesture should.

* * *

 

A few more weeks had passed and Chuck was let out of Medical with strict instructions to take it easy for a few more days for the stitches and left-over bruises to heal. Raleigh didn’t know whether he should be happy or upset, because he figured Chuck would go back to his same old assholish self. He was surprised to see Chuck knocking on his door at 2 in the morning one day, his shirt all disheveled and pants a bit off one side of his hip.

“Can’t sleep. A bit of a nightmare.” He said, awkwardly trying to hide the blush on his cheeks. Raleigh simply pulled the blanket on his bed a bit further back in a half-asleep welcoming gesture, not even fully realizing what he was offering to the younger man. He simply wrapped his arm around the younger Australian, and for the first time he realized that Chuck is still almost a kid forced to grow up too soon. And he doesn’t want anything to ruin that innocence as long as he can help it.

Morning comes, and Chuck wakes up earlier than usual. Partly because he doesn’t feel familiar with the room he’s in, also partly because there was a pleasant warmth radiating behind him that made him have to shuffle his shirt off to keep himself comfortable. And that was all the confirmation he needed. _I’m so in love with him. When the hell did this happen?_ He thought to himself as he closed his eyes and listened to the soft and even breathing of the blonde whose bed he was currently sharing. _At least he didn’t try to do anything to take advantage of the situation. I’d have to kill him. Or dad would._ He inadvertently snickered at the thought, causing Raleigh to shift a bit, bumping at one of the bruises on his side and causing Chuck to wince in pain. _This must be Karma._ He grumped in his head as he adjusted his position to make sure the like never happened again.

Raleigh smiled to himself as he had woken up at Chuck’s shifting around, gazing sleepily at the Australian man snuggled into his arms. He hated to use the word cute to refer to the Australian, anyone with a sense of self-preservation would really, but the word slipped out before his mind had time to filter. He wasn’t ready for the rather solid punch the smaller man could throw from such an awkward position.

“Don’t call meh Cute.” Chuck grumped underneath the blankets when Raleigh finally caught his breath from the surprise. It didn’t stop Raleigh calling him cute more often than not in his head.

Raleigh didn’t know how many days passed like that, with Chuck sheepishly knocking on his door at the hours even before twilight and having some issue sleeping. Raleigh suspected that he just wanted to spend time with him, but he figured he could be wrong because he’s been wrong before.

* * *

 

The next few weeks brought more firsts. Chuck had asked Raleigh out on a date, much to the surprise to everyone alive in the Shatterdome. Raleigh suspected that even the ghosts that may or may not have been drifting around would be surprised as Chuck had blurted it out in the middle of the mess hall, after careful poking and prodding by a very insistent blonde.

“Hey Rals.” Chuck called, giving his usual gruff attitude a bit of a fix-up anytime he was around the blonde. It didn’t go unnoticed at all. “You think you want to go get some better food? I’m kinda tired of this slop and the new recruits aren’t around yet to torture.” He murmured, blushing a bit as he fiddled with a loose string on his jacket. Raleigh had to say, he never knew he could easily deal with seeing chuck in a cargo-vest, but it suited him. He’d have to ask what all kinds of wondrous things were hidden in those pockets, but part of him probably didn’t want to know.

“Is this a request for a date, Hansen?” Raleigh smirked, just wanting to push the younger man’s buttons the right way.

“Fuck you, Becket.” Chuck frowned, turning to spin away and stalk off, but the fifty-something pound bulldog sat in his way and he couldn’t effectively storm or stalk off with Max in the way like that. He’d look rather silly.  “Yes. I’m asking you on a date, yagit.” He blushed, almost speaking under his breath.

“I didn’t quite catch that, Hansen. You’re gonna have to speak up. My hearing’s not what it used to be.” Raleigh grinned widely, doing a few congratulatory laps in his head that he didn’t just jump up and scream yes at the first possible account. _Small victories, I guess._ He had told himself as he forced himself back to paying attention to the now crimson-faced Aussie.

“Will you go out to dinner with me, Raleigh?!” Chuck suddenly shouted, scowling at the American. “There, is that bloody loud enough for you stupid hearing?” He sulked, quickly working to get away from the eerily quiet mess hall. He didn’t hear the whole mess hall explode in applause and cheers, both for Raleigh and Chuck. The aussie was too busy distancing himself from the American that had filled his recent thoughts.

Raleigh sighed as he searched the halls for his date for the evening, wearing his favorite blue sweater. “Chuck, Where are you? Max misses you.” He called out, hoping that the bulldog’s name was enough to get Chuck to at least peek his head out a door or something, but to no success. He wasn’t ready for the full force of a rather furious Australian to barrel into his side in a full tackle.

“You’re a fuckin’ ass! You had me humiliate myself in front of the entire god damned building!” Chuck shouted, furiously pounding every few syllables into Raleigh’s stomach and sides. Anywhere he could get a good hit really. “And now I can’t even go anywhere without someone giving me some strange damn look, and it’s pissing me off. I don’t know why I even asked you on it anymore, arsehole.” Chuck didn’t know what to expect when Raleigh took all of his hits, and quickly pulled him into a tight hug, chuckling the whole time.

“Chuck, those looks people are giving you are looks of jealousy.” Raleigh explained, smiling at the Aussie. “Because you get to have me all to yourself on this date, taking away my whole ‘eligible bachelor’ thing I apparently had going. Plus you ran off and hid so fast I never had time to tell you that: Yes. I will go on a date with you, Chuck Hansen.” Raleigh winked.

 “We should get up and find a place to eat then.” Chuck pouted, sulked really, but Raleigh gently carded his fingers through the ginger hair and smiled. He wasn’t ready for when Chuck suddenly wrapped arms around his waist, a pair of warm lips crashing against his own in a desperate plea for forgiveness. It wasn’t the most graceful of first kisses, but it did leave both parties breathless.

“We definitely need to get to a more private place before doing that again.” Raleigh mused, grinning widely as Chuck lightly batted at his face in response.

“Sorry Rals.” Chuck had managed to stammer out a few minutes later as they found a pizza place they could just order delivery from and sat on Raleigh’s bed watching a movie.

Needless to say, the next few days found Chuck with a few sets of interesting bruises in even more interesting and unexplainable places, most of the time with his hair messed up and a dazed look in his eyes.

* * *

 

Things were progressing smoothly at the shatterdome when the first bit of new recruits had all piled in, like a sad clown car routine in reverse, Raleigh remembers Chuck quipping, earning the young man an elbow to the ribs. After a few introductions, Chuck stormed off to find his father and figure out the meaning of the new people. Raleigh feels he should follow close behind and play the “Reduce collateral damage” game that he had suddenly gotten so good at in the few days following Chuck’s official date status.

As he approached the office he could hear Herc and Chuck arguing. With those two though, it wasn’t arguing so much as it was a bullheaded man talking to a slightly older, more bullheaded man.

“What do you mean we’re going to have to train for anti-personnel tactics now? I thought we were all good and done when the breach was closed.” Chuck shouted, clearly outraged.

“Mako and I have witnessed a few incidents of the old Kaiju worshipping cults popping up on the news. And if we want to get any funds to keep the Shatterdome up and running, then we’ve gotta have something to do with it, so we created the GDSC.” Hercexplained, his voice just as gravelly as it used to be.

“But why can’t they just get the local police to do that? Isn’t that good enough?” Chuck all but whined. _Still a child, for sure._ Raleigh mused and chuckled softly, shaking his head.

“Because, it’s more that the police can’t prove it was the Kaiju cults and we can. We were trained to fight the Kaiju, and we can easily put that training to take down the rest of the cults. If we don’t, who knows what those kind of stark-raving lunatics might try to do to open the breach.  If we’re not careful, they’ll get cocky, try to assassinate any one of us ‘god-killing heretics’ as they’ve called us before.” Herc said sternly, as he stared his son dead in the eye. “And I don’t want that happening to anyone here. I’ve told Mako and I’ll tell you. I’ve got a duty to everyone in this shatterdome to protect their lives. We need to take the fight to them before we wind up dead.”

Chuck closed his mouth somberly, nodding at his father as he saluted out of reflex, a Yessir escaping his lips as he went to leave the office, barely noticing Raleigh standing in the hallway. Raleigh caught his hand, lacing their fingers together and giving a reaffirming squeeze as they walked back to their room. Herc idly thought to himself that he’d have to give the kid some sort of award in patience sometime. Not publicly of course, and went back to organizing the game plan Mako had laid out before him, making calls and authorizing money transfers. The GDSC should have its supply of armor and weapons before long and the training could begin.

Herc really hoped that it didn’t come down to the nightmare’s he’d been having the past few days. Especially since that nightmare involved an assassination on his only son. Herc could only sigh in relief when he had learned that his boy had something special with the Becket boy, and for that he was more than thankful. He knew Raleigh would protect his son to the death.

He just hoped it never came to that either.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, it's a rather long piece of fluff, but I couldn't ever figure out where I wanted to end it so I decided why the hell not. -shrug-
> 
> but yeah, enjoy. There's more coming in the the future, i promise.


	4. We feel so much but we can't say a word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chuck figures out what effect Raleigh really has on him, and decides that he's got nothing to lose. 
> 
> In other words, nothing but fluff, really.

We feel so much but we can’t say a word.

* * *

 

The first day of new recruit training had started, and Herc had put Raleigh in charge of it, against the blonde American’s rather loud protests and his own son’s muffled laughter. Something along the lines of “Raleigh Fucking Becket training recruits! How fuckin’ rich!” he had grinned, howling with laughter as he clutched at his sides, dutifully ignoring the dark glower that was thrown at him by the larger blonde.

It was no surprise that by time training day came around, Raleigh was finding every excuse to use Chuck as his practice dummy, which had led to Chuck confronting him after the training was over and the rest of the group had left for the showers or mess hall. “The fuck, Rals?” Chuck scowled, easily pinning the other man against the wall nearby. It only served to infuriate the Aussie because he knew the other man could easily have reversed the whole situation, but only kept the same god damned grin on his face the whole time.

“You’re resilient, and I don’t want to hurt any of the new recruits, Chuckles.” Raleigh retorted, smirking down at the Australian as he leaned his head down, resting his forehead against the others.  He grunted a bit at the playful punch to his stomach, his smirk turning into a full blown grin as Chuck pouted at him.

“Don’t fuckin’ call me that, _Rah_ leigh.” Chuck scowled, shaking his head as he closed the distance between his lips and the American’s, the kiss not desperate, but not really apologetic. More a thing they did now when one or the other needed confirmation that yes, they were really alive and really this. _Whatever this is._ Chuck mused as he felt Raleigh wrap his strong arms around his waist, pulling him close to hug him tight. _It’s definitely worth all of the trouble._

* * *

 

The next few weeks continued at a slow and steady pace. Training was going so much better than Raleigh or Chuck expected. Every so often, Mako would join in on the training sessions, or even have a Kwoon spar with Raleigh. She more than proved that her previous talent at being chosen by Raleigh for copilot wasn’t just a fluke.  “4 to 3, Mako wins.” Chuck had announced with a rather mischevious smirk as he looked at the heap that was Raleigh laying on the mat and staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.

Chuck couldn’t help himself. Watching the much smaller woman hand Raleigh his ass with such ease and that happy little smirk on her face struck something in him that just made him that much happier that he could tell himself Raleigh isn’t totally perfect at everything and that he was just human enough for Chuck’s taste. Whatever that happened to be. He suspected that it was really only the taste of Raleigh. And god if he didn’t feel like a girl for thinking that. _Now I need to grab my gun and shoot a small animal to feel like a man again._ Chuck grimaced, shaking his head.

“You okay, Chuck?” Raleigh had taken the spot against the wall next to the Aussie and nudged him with his shoulder, knowing the younger male hated open acts of affection. He noticed how Chuck had brushed his hand against his own, and smiled warmly. He didn’t know what to call what he and Chuck were, but it was definitely right. In its own odd and rather baffling way.

"M'Yeah." Chuck murmured quietly, leaning his head against Raleigh's shoulder. And with that Raleigh knew this was definitely love.

* * *

 

They never understood what was going on between them, or why silence didn’t affect the other when they were together the way it did apart. It was all really comforting. A lazy day in bed, each in some state of dishabille or dishevelment brought the thoughts bubbling out of Raleigh’s mouth; another one of those “Brain Filter doesn’t work quick enough” moments.

“So, I’ve been thinking…” Raleigh started, giving a little pout at the younger man when Chuck grumbled a comment about how that was dangerous for the blonde. Raleigh jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow playfully. “About us, doofus. What are we?” he asked, words spilling out of his mouth before he could register Chuck’s feigned indifference.

“We are us. Chuck Hansen and Raleigh Beckett. Two people who saved the world and enjoy each other’s company.” He shrugged, trying to push away the feeling of discomfort as he started to dwell on the thought. Chuck Hansen wasn’t poetic, but this was as close as he was going to get. Raleigh suspected he should be glad he gets a completely different treatment from the Aussie than anyone else in the shatterdome.

“Yeah, but do we have an official name for it, or are we just something special.” He chuckled. “Cause I swear I’m the only person you’re not all Snark and Hate with.” He laughed, ignoring Chuck’s low grumble again as the Australian buried his face deeper into Raleigh’s chest in an attempt to get him to shut up.

“I guess the layman’s term would be Boyfriends, _Rah_ leigh.” Chuck smirked up at him, enjoying the shellshocked look on the American’s face, wishing that he had a camera or something with him to capture that look for eternity.

_Hm. Eternity. I could definitely get used to this for that long._ Chuck mused to himself as he trailed kisses down Raleigh’s chest, between his abs, and ever so slowly southward. He never knew Raleigh could be such a loud one with the way he always kept quiet.

* * *

 

“I swear to fuck you’re domesticating me, Becket.” Chuck had all but snarled at dinner one day, slamming his tray of food down onto the table across from the bemused-looking American. Sometimes he couldn’t stand that cocky smirk or the way Raleigh quirked his eyebrow ever so slightly to make it look part-amused-part-smug. Okay, so he really didn’t hate it all that much as he didn’t like what it did to him sometimes, especially since Raleigh had grown so fond of adopting that specific expression whenever Chuck did something civil and human in public.

Raleigh knew the nice and civil side of his boyfriend was reserved only for his private company only, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t enjoy giving the younger man a whole bunch of shit for his tendency to let his civility out in public every now and then. “Oh? Whatever could you mean, Pumpkin?” Raleigh had to bite back a peal of laughter at Chuck’s darkening scowl.

“I almost said Good Job to Newton during the Gun Range practice today. It’s all your fault, asshole.” Chuck scowled. “At this rate, my reputation is going to go well down the drain.” He sighed, poking at the meatloaf on his tray with a pout. Chuck seemed to be pouting a lot lately, and most of the time around Raleigh.

Raleigh chuckled softly and rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, one word of praise and you’re suddenly all buddy buddy and puppies and rainbows.” He grinned, leaning down to give Max a scratch behind the ears at the dog’s seeming indignant woof. “Less the puppies, more the rainbows, according to Max.” he laughed.

Chuck glared down at his dog as the bulldog maneuvered himself to lay in Raleigh’s lap, making himself content and snoozing away. “Damn traitorous dog.” He scowled. It didn’t stop him from playing footsie with Raleigh underneath the table with a playful grin on his face.

Raleigh could get used to those loving smiles and those mischevious grins on his boyfriends face every so often, if only he could tell what new and interesting things each look could bring.

* * *

 

It had been a rather hot day in the Hong Kong shatterdome, and Raleigh couldn’t find his boyfriend anywhere. He was startled to see Max trot up to him, a piece of paper wedged into his collar. He pulled it out and read it, idly rubbing Max’s stomach. The messy scrawl on the paper was definitely Chuck’s writing.

/ _Still_ _mad at you. Don’t come looking./_ it read, though Raleigh knew that the Aussie couldn’t stay mad at him. He quickly wrote a reply, pretending to act hurt as he wrote but barely containing his giggles.

Needless to say Chuck was surprised when Max came trotting back into the mechanical bay as he was working on cleaning out the .45 that he was given to carry, permit and all, and putting it back together. The piece of paper in his collar didn’t go un-noticed.

/ _well, if you don’t get un-mad at me, there’ll be no sex for a few weeks./_ The note read, and Chuck unconsciously pouted, ignoring Max’s whine and putting the gun back together. He thought he could deal without the mind-blowing sex for a few weeks, just because he was mad at the American. Thinking back on it, he shouldn’t be as angry as he was, but it was the principle of the thing.

_Chuck moaned lightly as he adjusted in his sleep, nuzzling closer to the beacon of warmth that was his boyfriend in their bed. All was well in Chuck-land in his head, until a rather painful elbow to the face woke him out of his stupor. “What the actual shit, Becket!?” he had snarled, quickly jumping out of the bed, still completely nude after their rather unscrupulous activities hours before. He poked at his face to make sure nothing was bruised or severely damaged. “Couldn’t ya have at least elbowed me in the stomach or something?”_

_“Mrh. But then how could I make all those fun jokes about how you like to hit during sex?” Raleigh murmured, still mostly asleep and only responsive because the loss of the form of his boyfriend snuggled against him made him cold. “Sorry I hit you in your selling point.” He murmured, yet another of the brain-filter-failure moments he was getting so adept at._

_“Fuck You Becket.” Chuck growled as he threw on a pair of shorts and stalked out of the shared room, his thankfulness that his father had put their new room near the local gym an afterthought at this point._

_It had taken a little over 10 minutes for Raleigh to come shambling into the gym with a box of Tim Tams, and a look on his face like Chuck had just kicked his puppy._

_“I’m sorry, babe.” He blushed, holding out the Tim tams in a silent offer to be forgiven. Chuck snatched them out of his hand and glowered at the American. “I was mostly asleep and not thinking. I seem to be getting pretty good at that.” He murmured, chewing on his lower lip in worry._

_The rather heartfelt apology and bribery only slightly made up for the fact that now Chuck had a bruised cheek and a sore jaw. He crossed his arms and turned his head in disdain. “hmph. I guess you’re forgiven for now. As long as I get to be on top this time.” He grinned. It didn’t take Raleigh long to figure out what the Australian meant._

Chuck sighed. He better go apologize to his boyfriend before he regretted it. Maybe he could work something out with the blonde to have joint custody on the top-position from this point out.

_Yup. Definitely smitten with that adorable bastard._ Chuck thought to himself with a dopey smile as he quickly made his way to the room he and the blonde shared. He wasn’t expecting the blonde to be dozing off with his book forgotten on his chest. Chuck woke him up with one of the best ways he knew how.

Given the way Raleigh moaned and whimpered, he could tell he was doing a good job.

_Definitely in love._ Chuck thought as his work had paid off, snuggling into his boyfriend. _I still can’t get used to that word though. Boyfriend._

 


	5. Lights fade, but we won't let them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which The plot thickens more, And chuck finds Raleigh's stash of Candies, and some rather interesting revelations are made about one another.

Lights Fade but we won’t let them

Chuck had never really thought about when he had fallen head over heels for his American partner, but he did have his supsicions. Something along the lines of six words so long ago. The two of them had decided to play a video game together after managing to grab one of the newer consoles from during their little vacation they had taken with the marshal’s permission.

“Yeah! Go Gipsy, Kick his ass!” Chuck shouted triumphantly as his fiddling with the controller and pressing random buttons had put his character on the screen into his finishing move, easily defeating the much larger character Raleigh was playing. He leaned over and stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend, before he stopped when the realization hit him. It all had started when Raleigh and Mako had saved him and his father from the impending figure of Leatherback about to crush the two of them like ants. There was something rather startling about seing the huge kaiju up so close and alive. Chuck wouldn’t deny that he was scared shitless, but he also wouldn’t admit it either. He was so thankful that Gipsy had shown up when she did, because he’d be dead otherwise.

“I still don’t know why you didn’t name your character Striker or something after your own Jaeger. Naming it after Gipsy is just unfair.” Raleigh pouted, trying his best to prevent the smirk from gracing his lips. Chuck rolled his eyes and jabbed a finger into Raleigh’s side playfully.

“Psh. Just because it bothers you.” He laughed, putting the controller down and laying his head in Raleigh’s lap, letting out a happy groan as he felt the older American run his fingers through his ginger hair. Raleigh hadn’t left his hair alone since the older man figured out that it had a rather amusing effect on the Aussie, making him melt into the touch like a dog getting its stomach rubbed.

“Heh, it doesn’t bother me that much, babe.” Raleigh murmured, letting his mind wander as he gently brushed his fingers through his boyfriend’s ginger locks, only barely paying attention to the television going on in the background.  He smiled softly as he listened to the Australian’s breathing even out as he fell asleep.

He could only hope that he didn’t wake up in the middle of the night with another nightmare.

* * *

 

The next day the entire shatterdome gathered in the Jaeger hangars, at the insistence of Herc Hansen. He had some sort of speech or something prepared or whatever, Chuck wasn’t paying attention during the special briefing he, Raleigh, and Mako had received about the upcoming few months.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. We originally recruited you saying that we were a branch of the UN Military. I hate to say this, but we were only partially truthful. You are all members of the GDSC. The Global Domestic Security Committee. An organization devoted to fighting against the Kaiju cultists that have been steadily empowering themselves, some going fanatical with the delusion that the Kaiju would be coming back if they prayed hard enough. Welcome, and I apologize if you feel lied to or betrayed, you’re welcome to leave. Just know that everything you do afterwards may or may not be monitored.” Herc stated, more calmly than he expected himself to be with the way his heart was pounding in his chest. Chuck couldn’t help but smile proudly up at his father as he nodded in recognition.

The meeting had spread and they were holding a small meeting between the higher ups of the GDSC, Mako, Herc, Raleigh, Chuck, and Tendo all gathered around the small table in the middle of LOCCENT.

“What are we going to do about this? We can’t just storm into any and every Cult sanctuary. We’d get taken down by the UN and local government for violation of rights to worship.” Herc sighed, shaking his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation. The legal implication of having to take down a cult that until recently was just peacefully worshipping the very things destroying the world was not exactly the easiest thing to deal with.

“Well, if we can single out one, and have someone go undercover then maybe we can unearth some of the more extremist behavior and have that reported to the public?” Chuck offered, and for a second he saw his father have the nerve to be impressed with his thought process.

“Well, that would be great and all, but there are still some of the Kaiju Cults that just mean to worship the things and not kill people for it.” Raleigh countered, having to hide a smirk when he saw Chuck’s shoulder’s fall as his idea fizzled into the empty air.

“The undercover thing is a good idea though, Hansen.” Tendo nodded sagely, cupping his chin in his hand in thought. “The problem is though that there are almost over 30 different cults here in Hong Kong alone, not to mention how many there are throughout the world.” He sighed, his expression grim as his imagination provided what could only be counted as a bad situation. “And we don’t have enough well-trained agents yet to go that thinly undercover. If we had the credibility we could get the FBI or the UN to help us out on a bust, but that’d be so far ahead that the cult’s would have time to prepare a counterattack.”

“What if we had information on a newly formed and pretty openly fanatical cult? One that could get us a hint of credibility with the FBI?” Raleigh spoke up with a small gleam in his eye. “There’s one that I’ve heard of on the news late at night that calls themselves the ‘second coming of the Kaiju’ or some trash, said their name was the Psalms of the Anteverse. Or something like that.” Raleigh ended sheepishly, not willing to admit that a certain Australian was taking up most of his attention the night that that certain special had aired.

“That’s actually rather well thought out, Becket. Good job.” Herc nodded, a little bit shocked at how well his rangers could work so quickly. It was Mako who broke the sudden silence next.

“If we need a trained team, I can go undercover with another of the younger recruits, as a way to give him a quick crash-course. We need at least one recruit with some sort of experience under his belt to give the rest something to strive for.” She volunteered, and damn if Raleigh didn’t know she could easily keep herself out of danger.

“Mako, Pentecost would be rolling in his grave if he heard you even offer yourself into that kind of danger.” Herc started, faltering when he noticed Mako’s steely gaze only grow stronger. “But with your skills and determination, I trust you well enough to not get hurt.” Mako could barely contain her appreciation as she stood up and bowed to the room.

“I’ll go make preparations. Mr. Choi, can you find a way to set up a safehouse to meet in at the end of every week to receive reports of the cult’s activity?” She asked as she strode out of the room, Tendo quickly following with a yelp of frustration.

Chuck silently observed the situation, eyes darting between his father and his boyfriend. He acutely noticed the worry and anger on Raleigh’s face as what just happened sunk in. “Sir, with all due respect, but what the hell?” He stood, brows furrowed in distress. “She might get killed out there, at least send me with her.” He shouted, throwing his arms out to provide a visual representation of how furious he was.

“I can’t do that, Ranger Becket. Because despite my worry for Miss Mori, If I sent you out there, who would train my new recruits every day? Who would watch over my son when I can’t. Who…Who would be there if I was to be assassinated the next day?” Herc sighed, his face falling and causing him to look much older than he was. “She’s the best chance we have, and I want you to choose the best of your recruits to accompany her.” Chuck couldn’t help but bite his lower lip as he realized what his father had said.

“With all due respect sir, Chuck could handle training the recruits, and it would be that easy to send me with her. I’m the most capable person here that can-“

“Enough, Ranger Becket. This discussion is over. They would suspect too much if the former crew of Gipsy Danger, the Jaeger that sealed the breach, suddenly decided to show up at their doorstep. And that would get you guys both killed right then and there.” Herc sighed, standing up quickly. “Dismissed.”

Chuck watched his father leave, and his boyfriend stumble a bit back into his chair. He hated leaving everything to Mako as well, because he also owed a lot to Pentecost for giving him a chance to live. He settled on taking Raleigh’s hand in his and intertwining their fingers with a gentle and almost imperceptible nod. And for an instant, everything was going to be okay.

* * *

 

The next few days saw the Shatterdome in a whirlwind of activity, preparations and such going on as well as the daily routine. There were still a few recruits that had freaked out about the whole fighting Kaiju Cults and such, but after the initial surprise and panic had worn off, it all just settled back to the same old routine.

Except for Chuck and Raleigh of course, because despite everyone else being able to settle into routine the two of them were always finding some way to surprise everyone.

Cue the blonde All-American-Guy running down the hall after a snickering Australian with nothing but a towel around his waist and a set of way-too-small clothes in his arms. “I swear to fuck, Hansen that when I catch you you’ll be regretting it for weeks!” he shouted, skidding down a hall with a gentle thud as he slipped into a wall to catch himself. Granted, the shouts had dwindled down when a door slammed shut.

Needless to say, Raleigh was not expecting to find Chuck laying on their bed, snacking on his stash of Jolly-Ranchers. His scowl deepend as he threw the clothes at the Australian. “Fucking bastard.” Raleigh snarled, jumping on the Australian who was feigning innocence.

“I have no idea what you’re –aah- talking about, Rals.” Chuck tried to bite back some of the more unsavory sounds as Raleigh did the one thing he did better than pilot a Jaeger. Granted his innocent act got harder and harder to keep up with the blonde’s administrations _and_ _oh god Raleigh right there._

Raleigh grinned through a mouthful of the Australian’s exposed neck. “Now, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The two sizes too small clothes.” He smirked, his anger quickly forgotten at his boyfriend’s mewls and whines.

“Must haaaaahhhve shrunk from the steam in the showers.” Chuck groaned out, doing his damned best to ignore the effect the blonde was having on him. “It’s not impossible, the way you like to prissy up in the showers, ya drongo.”

“Oh? So I prissy up in showers now do I?” Raleigh drawled slowly, punctuating each word with a soft bite to whatever exposed skin he could find.

“More than any bloke should. You know how long your showers go.” Chuck managed through all the haze in his mind from the affection he was receiving. “Those almost hours add up, mate.” He added as an afterthought as he drew his nails along Raleigh’s naked back.

It was then that Chuck found out that Angry Sex, even when Faux Angry Sex is some of the best that he can get from Raleigh, and makes a mental note to get him agitated like this even more.

* * *

 

The late night work sessions were not something Raleigh hated; in fact he occasionally preferred them to the hustle and bustle of normal days. He still had his insomnia and a simple cup of tea at his side as he went over the next month’s training routines at his desk. A small snort and a grunt alerted him to the fact that his boyfriend was still fast asleep and not frantically searching for his warmth. At least his insomnia was a little bit more manageable with the way Chuck would use him as a pillow, and for fucks sake that kid could play dead weight better than he let on.

“mrf. Come back to bed, Rals.” The gruff voice came from the bed, making Raleigh smile softly to himself as he finished up his plans for the next few weeks at the least. He could handle winging a session or two if it meant he didn’t have to put up with the kicked-puppy look from the Australian. “Please? It’s cold.” Chuck pouted now, making Raleigh roll his eyes. “and could ya turn that damn TV off? I don’t know how ya can sleep with that bugger on.” He murmured, rolling over and scooting closer to the wall.

Raleigh chuckled as he slid into bed and wrapped his arms around the Aussie, a single thought passing his mind as he shut off the TV and closed his eyes.

Who would have guessed that the almighty Chuck Hansen would prefer to be the little spoon nine times out of ten. Not that he would express that amusement out loud; He preferred his teeth where they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff Fluff Fluff Plot Fluff Fluff. yup, that's my story outline I think. Maybe. It seems to get out of hand at times.


	6. Lazy Habits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a few words and ideas are exchanged, and Chuck can't seem to catch a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do enjoy comments, people. And yes, More fluff fluff and plot. but you know how it goes by now. this chapter is actually pretty short compared to the other chapters in this story.

Lazy Habits

* * *

 

It was a very interesting week for Raleigh as he dealt with Chuck being Chuck and not having an anchor in Mako. The Aussie’s antics were getting to him a bit, and he found himself buckling under the mixture of stress and amusement.

“I’m just saying, Rals, if Gipsy and Striker were to fight, Striker’d win no doubt.” Chuck had spouted, trying to make a decisive point on the argument that _he_ started up in the first place and Raleigh was winning at the time. The blonde rolled his eyes at the Australian and grinned at him.

“Keep telling yourself that, Chuckles.” Raleigh grinned, stepping out of the way of the playful punch Chuck threw at him as he fell in step next to his boyfriend and they walked their way to the briefing room for yet another meeting. Hercules seemed to have something new to tell the remaining pilots, and he sounded pretty excited.

“Wonder what’s got your dad in such a hype.” Raleigh mused, noticing but not mentioning a thing about how Chuck had so easily laced his fingers together with his own in public for the first time. _it’s good he’s feeling more secure about all this._ Raleigh noted, grinning to himself.

“Who knows. The old man’s always been easily excitable. Like an old dog that can’t control himself.” Chuck shrugged, rolling his eyes so hard he might have strained something if it were anyone other than the boisterous Aussie. They finally arrived at the meeting room after Chuck regaled him with various bits of Australian slang and euphemisms, finally ending with an explanation of the “Aussie Aussie Aussie” joke, just in time to hear a rather out of place shout from behind the door.

“Oi Oi Oi.” Herc chuckled as the door opened to reveal his son and his more-than-likely future-son-in-law. “As amusing and well timed as that was, I’ve requested you guys here for good news. They’ve decided to restart funding of the Jaeger program.” He explained with a grin.

“Oh? So we’re going to what, fight terrorists or shit in a Jaeger now? Isn’t that a bit unfair?” Chuck rolled his eyes yet again as he casually took a seat in front of his father’s desk. “Or are they making Jaeger’s for fun now, like that old Rock-em-sock-em-robots bullshit? Cause I actually might pay to see that.” Chuck trailed off, liking the images his mind was providing him.

“Well, somethin’ of the sort. They want to restart construction of Jaegers to help with Underwater construction as well as above-ground construction. They figure that if we size them down a bit then first off the neural strain won’t be deadly as shit, and second that they could use them for the much heavier duty work that requires less dexterous cranes and such.” Herc nodded, barely able to contain his excitement. “In other news, we might actually be able to open up a branch to teach people how to pilot Jaegers for the construction. We’re having the Science and R&D departments do all the research they can about it in hopes that it’s a viable solution.”

“huh, that’s actually pretty clever of the UN, for once.” Chuck smirked, rubbing his hands together. “So that means we can get a new Striker?”

“Remember, Chuck. He only said it’s not even proven that it’s possible. As much as I want it to be possible too, we need to wait to see what results come out of the research.” Raleigh interjected before his boyfriend could get too hyped about the issue.

“Raleigh’s right, son. But I figured you both would enjoy hearing about the news preemptively, which is why I called ya here. But not only that. The reports you heard about the Psalms of the Anteverse being a fanatical cult that had plans to bring down the UN and try to reopen the breach happened to be mostly true, Raleigh. Mako has delivered her first weekly report without an issue. It seems they have a plan to bomb the UN headquarters, but I don’t think she’ll let it happen so easily. We’ve already sent warning to the UN to expect a bomb threat and to periodically search the whole building thoroughly to avoid incident.” Herc jumped from one topic to the next with such practiced ease that one would think he had been the Marshal for as long as he lived. While Raleigh was glad Mako was fine, and not even the least bit surprised that she could gather this much information so quickly, he was still mildly irritated that the Marshal didn’t put up more of a fight to keep her from volunteering.  

Chuck nodded as he stood up, already done with the meeting. “That’s all we need to hear, Old Man, now if ya don’t mind I’ve got a shooting range to deal with watching Recruits of.” He chuckled, Quickly stepping out of the office with a curt nod to his father.  Raleigh was left with the elder Hansen, and he had a bad feeling about what could come. Before he had a chance to excuse himself Herc turned his steely gaze on him.

“I don’t know what is going on between you and my son, but I do know that you make him happy. Happier than he’s been in quite a while, at least. I don’t want anything to happen to you two, because I know that you two have something going on to keep each other sane and grounded, but if you hurt him you will be so far underground that they’d be digging for days to even find a hint of your body.” Herc snarled a bit at the end, suddenly looming over the much smaller American who could only nod complacently as the threat registered in his mind.

He couldn’t help but wonder the frightful headway he’d make if Herc put that kind of enthusiasm in his new position of Marshal.

* * *

 

“Dammit Raleigh!” Chuck shouted as he chased down the giggling American, the man holding a rather small plastic bag under his shoulder like a football. The rest of the shatterdome had gotten used to the antics of the two, even though they would occasionally accidentally drag other people into their pranks against each other.  “Give me back my stash!” he growled as he ran faster to try to catch the blonde.

“You’re going to have to catch me first. You know you can’t hide candy without it getting taken, Chuckles.” Raleigh called over his shoulder, grinning like a madman. He even managed to make it to their shared room before being suddenly tackled to the ground by the Australian. He didn’t mind, it allowed him time to wrap an arm around his boyfriend’s waist and card his fingers through his hair.

“Give me my damn Tim Tams back, ya bloody fuckwit.” Chuck all but snarled, the gleam in his eye unmistakable. Raleigh knew he wasn’t going to get hurt, just that Chuck would pretend to want nothing to do with him for the next however long it took him to find a new hiding place for his precious candy. Raleigh would always know where to find it, Chuck was just predictable enough to keep his life normal. At least normal enough for a man who had already dealt with the end of the world.

_Heaven or hell be damned if I’ll give this up._ Raleigh thought to himself as Chuck sat in his lap at his computer, effectively distracting him from whatever work he was partaking in.

* * *

 

Chuck was a man of perfection, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t have his own lazy habits. Like his habit of slurring his words together in his moments of half-sleep, or the way he would always shorthand Raleigh’s name just to get underneath the American’s skin, but universe be damned if he didn’t keep up on his physical training. This specific day was no exception. Chuck was in the middle of a set of chin-ups, sweat dripping from his shirtless form, and completely unaware of the set of blue eyes watching him.

Raleigh was always open to eating the eye-candy his boyfriend would provide for him. It made him feel a bit better about himself because he could actually relate to Mako for the few times she had done so to him before they had reached an understanding about each other. He said nothing, simply watched as his boyfriend went through the sets of his workout to keep in shape. He knew Chuck was getting back in shape in case they ever decided to use Jaegers again, as if his status as a pilot, and subsequently some sort of rockstar, meant everything to him. He made a note to make sure Chuck never had that feeling ever again, and that he could be content with who he was as long as they were together. Sure, he was still damaged goods as far as he was concerned, but if dealing with the rather amused voices of Yancy in his head meant that he could live a happy life with Chuck, then he’d go through hell itself to keep what they had.

“Gonna just stand there and drool, _Rah_ leigh?” Chuck grinned, not stopping his set of dead-lifts as his voice adopted the slight drawl that the blonde was accustomed to. “or are ya gonna help me make sure I don’t accidentally drop these heavy weights on myself?” He grinned, adopting gentle mocking tone. Just mocking enough to startle Raleigh into action but not enough to cause any actual problem. The rest of the afternoon proceeded in mostly-silence.

It wasn’t until they got back to their room and into the showers that Raleigh made his intention to keep Chuck known to the ginger.

“I love you, Chuck.” He had stated after they dried off and were cuddling in bed. He didn’t miss the way Chuck’s whole body momentarily tensed up, nor did he miss the way Chuck noncommittally murmured a ‘yeah,mhm.” In response.

“ You don’t have to say anything meaningful, really. Just wanted to throw it out there.” Raleigh chuckled, nuzzling into the slightly smaller male’s neck. “I don’t want you to think I’ll suddenly leave you for no reason.” The small affectionate noise from the Aussie confirmed Raleigh’s suspicions.

“Yeah, I know. I love you too, Rals.” Chuck stammered out, hoping the blonde didn’t notice the heavy blush spreading across his entire face. “Just don’t go around telling everyone. I’d hate to have my reputation ruined because you keep running your mouth.”

And for just a minute, Chuck thought he might as well be in heaven, if heaven was the arms of a blonde angel and damn was he being sappy today.

 


	7. Let go for tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Chuck teaches Raleigh quite a bit of slang, the press has a field day, and Herc is stressed.

Let go for tonight

* * *

 

“Crikey, _Rah_ leigh, if you don’t get ready any faster I swear to god we’ll miss that movie. I’ll be damned if a fuckin’ seppo will make me miss what I’ve been waiting for my whole life.” Chuck called, already dressed and ready to bound out the door as soon as his blonde boyfriend would finish fluffing up in the bathroom, which only agitated the Aussie even more. As if the blonde had any reason to fluff up just for going to the movie, but Chuck let that point slide at the moment, an argument to bring up a later time.

“Keep throwing that weird ass slang at me, Chuckles, and I’ll just take longer.” Raleigh threatened, grinning on his side of the bathroom door as he finished up getting his hair the way he wanted it. He swung the door open and nearly smashed Chuck’s face in as the other male was about to seemingly break the door down in an attempt to get to the American. He couldn’t help but grin when Chuck’s breath hitched in his throat.

“I was goin’ to argue why ya take so bloody long, but now I realize it’s a useless argument and I’d be left a bit hit for six.” He grinned, taking a quick moment to savor the taste that was so uniquely Raleigh, and more importantly his alone. “Now I feel all under-dressed even though we’re just going to squiz a movie.” Chcuk frowned, scowled really, and turned on his heel. “Now come on, we’re taking my ute, since ya went and munted your car last week.” Chuck grinned, dragging a rather bemused Raleigh quickly behind him.

“Why are you so interested in seeing this movie with me? And what the hell is a squiz? And a ute?” Raleigh shook his head, both amused and terrified of the way Chuck could get if he was spouting all kinds of the Australian slang.

“I’ll explain later, ya bludger.” Chuck laughed, a sound only Raleigh seemed to get to hear nowadays. He barely took notice of the hand that Chuck put in his own as they shifted into drive and left for the movie theater.

An hour and a half of almost nothing but explosions, mostly nonsensical science fiction, and a bunch of testosterone packed into a screen, Raleigh was sure his eardrums wouldn’t work well for the next few days, so he barely registered Chuck’s excitement during the walk to the car. “Man, if any movie captures the feel of piloting a Jaeger, that was it.” He had babbled, looking like a kid who had just met a superhero, complete with all the wide-eyed enthusiasm.   

“That’s what that was based on? Our misadventures as Jaeger pilots?” Raleigh questioned the morality of the movie’s directors and screenwriters suddenly, shaking his head as he rubbed his temples. “All I know is that now I need quite a few painkillers to stave off this stupid headache all those obnoxiously loud explosions and noises caused.” He sighed.

“Oh come on Ray. Stop being such an old bastard.” Chuck grinned, the look on his face the closest to affection as he could manage in public. Raleigh chuckled softly as he felt Chuck take his hand when the Aussie thought they were in private.

“Psh, then you wouldn’t love me as much.” Raleigh grinned, shaking his head as he felt Chuck give his taken hand a reassuring squeeze. The words weren’t there but the meaning of the gesture was understood as clearly as if it had been said out loud.

_I’d still love you just as much, I think._

* * *

 

The next day had the press almost battering down the door of the Shatterdome, and Herc was pretty damn sure they were close to trying to use some of the more sturdy recording equipment to try to make a makeshift battering-ram. If there was anything left that terrified Herc as much as the Kaiju, the reporters were definitely making a spot near the top of the list. It wasn’t until he heard what they were asking for that he blew a gasket, so to speak.

“You bloody Galahs. Apparently a reporter saw you two last night coming back from a ‘date’ or whatever the hell you two were doing out at fuck-all-else at night. And now they’re hounding our doors in hopes of catching you two bloody makin’ out or something. Now you’ll go fix this situation before I have to make you fix it, am I clear? We’ve got enough on our plate, dealing with the whole undercover operation.” Herc shouted, well almost shouted. His voice was louder than usual more because of stress-induced headaches than actual anger. He couldn’t be angry at his only son for finding someone that makes him happy, but damn did the press make him worry.

“To be fair sir, we might actually be able to use this to our advantage.” Raleigh spoke up, nodding slowly and deliberately. “If we can goad the press into making this the top story, as much as Chuck might hate it, then we might actually be able to use the sudden surge in interest in anything that’s not Kaiju cult activity to get further in Mako’s investigation. I know Newt is working on decrypting and deciphering the new batch of files she had Private Miller send him, and maybe the sudden surge of ‘useless news’ so to speak might actually make the Psalms drop their guard.” Raleigh explained, carefully thinking of his words so as not to upset Chuck and Herc. He managed not to upset the latter, but the former looked rather annoyed at their relationship being called useless news.

“Oh, so whatever the hell we are is useless news, Becket?” Chuck huffed indignantly, scowling fiercely all the while.  “You sure know how to make a bloke feel all warm and fuzzy.” He growled. Raleigh sighed and rolled his eyes a bit.

“You and I both know that’s not what he meant, Chuck. To people like Kaiju Cultists and other generally everyday news, this would be like if People Magazine did a new stint of some celebrity’s love life to you. It’s useless gossip to the everyday person, and that’s what the news reporters get paid to dish out.” Herc couldn’t help but grin at his son’s rather well-impersonated kicked-puppy look. He must have adopted it from Max or Raleigh. It didn’t take much for the older Australian to figure out exactly what was going on between his son and the American. He was just happy for the two of them, because he knew that his son deserved all the happiness he could get.

“Still…” Chuck trailed off, biting his lower lip in what could only be an apology to the American, and Raleigh chuckled as he nodded his forgiveness to the Aussie.

“Well then, if you want, we can set up a sort of interview with one of the big news groups and you guys can pretend to be all mushy-mushy and get the press off our backs for at least a few days.” Herc nodded, motioning the two out of his office. He could hear his son’s offended “OI!” From the other side of the iron doors, and for a minute, all was right with the world.

He could still feel Angela and Pentecost both watching over him from wherever they may be.

* * *

 

The news crews were relentless in their pursuit to see what the ‘golden couple’ was capable of, as far as dealing with required timeslots and asinine questions went.  It was no surprise that at the end of the day Chuck ended up ungracefully flopping face-first into their shared bed, still fully clothed and everything. He didn’t miss Raleigh’s small chuckle and the shift of the bed as the blonde crawled in delicately behind him and wrapped a pair of strong arms around him. “mhh. Why do you have to be so damned warm, ya right bastard?” Chuck mumbled tiredly, gently snuggling back into the warm embrace.

“I dunno, probably something about how much I love you or some other cheesy shit like that. I’m too tired to actually come up with something.” Raleigh chuckled, as he nipped at the Australian’s ear playfully. “So when are you going to tell me what all those fancy slang words you were using before the movie meant?” That damnable lopsided grin was back in his voice, and Chuck hated that Raleigh knew what that smile did to him.

“Well, A seppo is essentially what you guys call Yankees. Hit for Six is the fact that I would have lost whatever argument I would have started with ya, for a start.” Chuck started explaining after a defeated sigh. He might as well play teacher to the American as best as he could. “To squiz something is to look at or watch it, and the Ute is my car. Callin’ a bloke a bludger is a way of callin’ ‘im lazy. And finally, galah means fool or idiot. So there ya have it, a breakdown of the Australian language all before the fun parts of the night.” Chuck laughed as Raleigh poked him in the side, a habit the American had picked up when he found out the Australian was slightly ticklish and if he seemed particularly frustrated.

“Ah. So what does Strewth mean?” Raleigh asked, grinning madly as Chuck squirmed under his torturous tickling. “Cause I know I’ve heard that out of your mouth some times when you’re rather busy with all kinds of things.” Raleigh winked, and Chuck knew he couldn’t hide the rather obvious feeling from the blonde.

“It’s just an expression, like how you Americans have that whole ‘oh god’ thing.” Chuck rolled his eyes violently, turning to face the blonde with a smirk. “Plus, you know it gets you all hot and bothered when I say it in the bedroom.” He winked, the small groan that followed his ministrations south of Raleigh’s border expected, and welcomed by the ginger.

“It means I’m doing something right.” Raleigh grinned, gasping as a familiar warmth washed over a very familiar part of him.

_Definitley something right._ Was the last coherent thought that passed through his mind that night. 

* * *

 


	8. I can't believe my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which theres, surprise, more fluff. And there's actually a plot revelation going on here, I promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for me to get a new chapter out, for those of you that may be dedicated to this story.

I can’t believe my heart

* * *

 

It was no surprise to Chuck to find his boyfriend sitting alone in their room with a book propped in his lap with Max taking up the attention of his other arm, occasionally letting out an indignant huff when Raleigh would stop petting him to turn the page of his book, a happy rumble coming out of the dog soon after.

“My dog is such a traitor.” He chuckled from the doorway, shaking his head as he watched the scene before him, Max letting out a low bark in defense of his actions.  He smiled a bit as Raleigh chuckled and shrugged, not looking up from his book. Chuck went about getting changed from his workout clothes and into something more comfortable for the day. It was then that Chuck’s cell decided to ring, startling the Australian a bit. He wasn’t used to getting calls. He answered the phone quickly, stepping out of the room a bit to not bother Raleigh.

He came back in the room a few minutes later with a rather shell-shocked expression. “We’re going to be moving the Shatterdome operations. They managed to keep the Sydney ‘dome open long enough to get it all up and running, and they think we’ll be better there than here in Hong Kong.” Chuck grinned widely, excited he was able to go back home.

“That’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to go to Australia.” Raleigh chuckled, putting his bookmark in his page and rolling over a bit to watch his boyfriend as he scurried around their room, managing to be a hive of energy and still doing everything lazily. He caught the annoyed glance the Aussie had shot him at his comment and rolled his eyes with his lopsided smirk.

“Right, you’ve always wanted to go to Australia, ya git.” Chuck responded sarcastically, throwing a pile of clothes at Raleigh who yelped in surprise. Chuck smirked inwardly at his small victory before Raleigh came springing from the pile of clothes and pulled chuck into his grasp. He tried his hardest not to laugh as the blonde tickled him.

“Dammit Raleigh, I give.” He giggled after Raleigh managed to pin his arms down and tickle him mercilessly. He looked much like a petulant child before Raleigh kissed him, slow and loving as he wrapped his arms around the Australian. “You stupid bastard.” He pouted.

“But I’m your stupid bastard.” Raleigh countered with a smile, loving the way the ginger’s eyes lit up with his emotions that he never would say. Not for the first time, Raleigh was thankful for his luck in surviving the knifehead incident, and as sad as it made him, he still had to thank Pentecost for giving him this opportunity.

“Yeah, you are.” Chuck muttered in defeat as he pulled Raleigh closer for another kiss, longer, more desperate than the last. _And I don’t want to give you up for anything._ Chuck thought as Raleigh dragged him to their bed.

* * *

 

To say that Herc was happy that they would be moving back to the Sydney Shatterdome was an understatement. The elder Hansen was ecstatic to be going back to his hometown after almost two years away. He wasn’t all too sure how he’d deal with Chuck and Raleigh in Sydney, but he felt that was an issue for another day. He heard the familiar beep of the holo-monitor in his office that signaled that the UN wanted to speak with him. He quickly pressed the answer button, knowing full well what the UN would like to discuss.

“Marshal Hansen.” The familiar faces of the UN representatives greeted him on the large screen, each of them taking up their own square within the screen. “I assume you know why we’ve contacted you.” The US representative started, his face as stern and unreadable as always.

“I’ve got a feeling, yes.” Herc nodded in response, his hands behind his back as a way to give himself something to do to keep him busy while he talked. “It has something to do with the new funding for the Jaeger program, correct?”

“That is correct, Marshal. We have decided to give the go ahead for the new Jaeger program. We have reasons to believe that not only will the program help with construction, but we have received your reports from the K-Science division that the breach may open up again later on down the line and we can’t have that happen and us all be unprepared.” The Chinese representative spoke up next, worry evident on his face despite his efforts to keep himself contained.

“Mr. Quing is right. We need the Jaegers to defend us, despite the previous loss records.”  The US representative spoke up again, his face conveying the thoughts he wasn’t letting out.

“What about your precious wall of life?” Herc asked, more hostile than he intended. He didn’t like how the Jaeger program was scrapped to build the wall that hadn’t even done its job, with Mutavore breaking through within less than an hour.

“We understand that the Wall is a waste of time and money now. We will be sending in the funds for building new Jaegers as soon as you relocate to the Sydney Shatterdome. Until then, enjoy time off.” The british prime minister nodded, signing off soon after, the rest of the UN following suit, leaving Herc a bit dazed in his office. They were going to get new Jaegers, and all he could do was sit here and let the other pilots do their job. He couldn’t get back in a Jaeger, because he was the marshal.  He rubbed his face with his hands and sighed, working to think on how everything was going to work out, he also didn’t know how Mako would deal with the situation.

A beeping at his computer notified him to a new email, so he opened it, seeing Mako’s name in the headline.

/ _Marshal Hansen, how are you? It is very slow here; The Psalms members are all warming up to me though, and I’ve heard some people whisper that there’s a plan to bomb the Hong Kong Shatterdome. As well as more information on their original plan to try to bomb the UN. It seems that they’re planning a multi-chain explosive that they’ve set to go off a few days from now. How they managed to accomplish planting the explosives up around the UN is beyond me, for sure. I’ll keep in touch with you next week, marshal, it seems they’re getting a bit suspicious of how often I’m on my laptop./_ The email revealed almost as much as Herc knew of the whole plan, but now that he had a bit more information on the UN bombing it was a bit better to deal with. He quickly typed up a small Email stating the fact to all of the representatives and security staff of the UN headquarters, contacts which he knew would be otherwise hard to get to. He sighed and cradled his head in his hands.

_Why can’t things be a little bit easier? Hell, it’s almost worse than dealing with the Kaiju._ Herc thought as he went back to detailing some of the specs of the new Jaeger that the J-tech teams had pooled together to be the first new Mark V to be produced; its codename Silent Cerberus.

“We’re in for one hell of a trip.” He muttered mostly to himself as he looked over the files.

* * *

 

It was a bit surprising to Raleigh when he woke up in the middle of the night without Chuck in his bed, or Max in the doggy bed they had moved into their room so the poor bulldog didn’t feel left out. He stretched a bit and stood from the bed, still mostly dressed from the hours before when all that had really happened was an extended make out session that was almost long overdue.  He wandered out into the hall to check the nearby gym where he knew that Chuck liked to go if he was having a particularly bad day. When his search there came up empty, he tried the mostly empty mess hall, with no avail. He found Tendo and decided to sit next to him and resting his head on his elbows a bit disparagingly.

“What’s up with you, Becket boy? You and your domestic partner get into a fight?” He grinned slightly, patting Raleigh on the back gently. The disgruntled sigh from the blonde made Tendo worry a bit more than he usually would.

“I dunno. I woke up after a bit of stuff last night and he’s suddenly not here. I would think I’d notice if my own fucking boyfriend would be feeling so bad that he couldn’t manage to talk to me about things.” Raleigh groaned, hitting his head against the table a bit. He almost didn’t hear Tendo’s soft chuckle.

“Don’t tell him I told you this, but I’ve seen him a while back, going down with a tablet into the rec room and sorta locking himself in there most nights. I tried asking him what he’s doing but he won’t answer me, just keeps sitting there and occasionally grunting disapproval at something on the tablet.” Tendo chuckled, he knew what the younger Hansen boy was doing, and he didn’t want to ruin the surprise for him.

“Why didn’t ya open with that, Tendo. No wonder other girl’s boyfriends hate you.” Raleigh teased, smiling widely as he nodded at the older man. “Thanks Tendo, at least now I know my boyfriend’s not trying to get me to kill myself from guilt or something.” He laughed, standing up and stretching a bit again as he snatched one of the oranges off of Tendo’s tray before leaving, knowing there were still a few of the Female J-Tech members in the mess hall that couldn’t help but stare at him as he left.

_Oh the fit Chuck would have if he could see_. Raleigh had thought, smiling to himself as he peeled the orange and slowly ate it on his way back to his room to lie down.

Sure enough, a few hours later, the familiar bark-snuffle of Max coming into the room and Chuck’s hiss to be quiet woke Raleigh up from where he had dozed off reading his book, though he didn’t immediately open his eyes. He heard chuck mutter something to himself. Something about a “bloody Seppo.” And he felt the book being gently pulled from his hands, and the bed shift under a familiar weight on the mattress.

“Can’t even stay asleep for a few hours, can ya, mate?” Chuck muttered, even though Raleigh could hear the soft smile in his voice, the smile that was only reserved for Raleigh and everyone else could right piss off as far as Chuck was concerned. Raleigh deliberately let a few sleepy murmurs escape his lips to help his little illusion as chuck shifted him to a more comfortable position to cuddle up to his side, head resting on his chest and an arm curling around his waist. He couldn’t help but smile at the noise of contentment that escaped his Aussie boyfriend’s throat as he placed a gentle kiss against his chest, gently tracing the lines of his scars and making a shiver go through the American’s spine.

“Good night, ya bloody bastard.” Chuck muttered fondly, noticing the way Raleigh’s body twitched a bit more responsively than an unconscious man would have any right to.

“Night, babe.” Raleigh responded with a smile, all of the thoughts that might have been going through his head suddenly silenced by the warmth of his lover. “Love you.”

“Love ya too, damn yank.” Chuck responded, his breathing evening out as he fell asleep and Raleigh pulled the blanket back over the two of them.

_Definitely better than sex._ Raleigh thought to himself with a small inward chuckle.

* * *

 

 


End file.
